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Raffle of rifle to raise money for trip by deputies

The Oconee County Sheriff's Office is raffling off a rifle to raise money so three deputies can join a motorcade during Police Week activities this May in Washington, D.C.

Police Week honors the families of sheriff's deputies and police officers killed in the line of duty, and hundreds of law enforcement officers, including three Oconee County deputies, plan to attend the ceremonies to escort the families around the city, said Chief Deputy Lee Weems.

Deputies sold raffle tickets for a Glock handgun last year and raised about $9,000 to send three deputies and their motorcycles to Police Week 2010.

"One of the deputies provided the pistol that we raffled off last year," Weems said.

Deputies got a good price from a local firearms dealer on the Colt AR-15 rifle that's in this year's raffle, Weems said.

"This is what they cut us a deal on to raffle off," he said.

Anyone who wins the raffle, which will be announced May 7 at Clyde Armory in Bogart, will have to go through the same background checks a gun purchaser has to go through, if they don't already own a Georgia firearms license, Weems said.

Oconee County deputies first attended Police Week in 2009 with family members of Lt. David Gilstrap, who was hit by a car and killed in 2008 while directing traffic outside Oconee County Primary School.

Local deputies joined the escorting motorcade for the first time last year.

Oconee County Lt. Griffin Attaberry was moved by the experience last year and decided that he wanted to do it again this year, he said.

"It's the ultimate sign of respect in our minds, to provide that service to a family that we've never met," Attaberry said.

The raffle's prize is a great find for law enforcement and rifle enthusiasts because it's one of the newest models on the market and has about a $1,200 retail value for a $10 ticket, he said.

Tickets are available at the Oconee County Sheriff's Office on Experiment Station Road in Watkinsville during business hours.